The Star-Democrat from Easton, Maryland • A4

A4 THE STAR DEMOCRATTuesday, March 19, 2019 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR OPINION TODAY IN HISTORY QUOTE The confounding story of Genovese It began with a lunch at a place called not far from police headquarters in New York, and the trigger was a six-word sentence. Queens the police commissioner said to A.M. Rosen- thal, then the metropolitan editor of The New York Times, something It was something else, though in the Times it was something very small a four-paragraph story about the death 55 years ago this month of a woman identified as Miss Catherine Genovese of 82-70 Austin Street in Kew Gardens. Stories like that ap- peared in the newspaper every day, terrible murders that did not rate terribly much space, or terribly much attention. New York was a big, crowded city, and people got murdered there with sad and sense- less regularity.

Four paragraphs. Just one murder in a city in which 636 were committed that very year. But there was something different about this mur- der not about the way that Kitty Genovese was killed: a hunting knife, following an attempted rape and a robbery but about the circumstances of the crime. It occurred with witnesses, more than three dozen of them, according to the legend, passive men and women who watched this drama unfold as if they were watching it through a pane of glass or, more likely, through a television screen. They watched it begin, they watched it continue, they watched it end, goes the narrative that has en- tered history.

And by the very passive act of watch- ing watching, and not acting they became bit players in one of the signature crimes of the era. Bit players who soon would be swept to the center of the stage: witnesses so numbed by violence, or so disin- terested in their neighbor, or so dismissive of their moral responsibilities, that they did nothing, and by doing nothing became the most important part of the drama. That transformation occurred because Mr. Rosen- thal, a hard-bitten onetime foreign correspondent with a sharp intellect that oftentimes was overcome by an almost febrile emotion this man who in- spired terror in colleagues and news sources and yet was a serial hugger and often was reduced to tears saw a big story inside the small death of Kitty Geno- vese. Over the newsroom loudspeaker he summoned Marty Gansberg and asked him to look into a story that his own staff had determined rated so little at- tention.

The result shook New York and startled the world. It also helped lead to the establishment of 911 emergency telephone numbers. It transformed the name Kitty Genovese from a noun into an adjective. It produced an image of New York so sprawling that an individual human is subsumed, so dense that hu- man instincts are suppressed, so violent that human life is devalued that endured for years. It stained an entire neighborhood, then an entire city, then an entire generation.

And it made the phrase want to get attributed to a neighbor in the Gansberg piece, a symbol of cold-hearted compla- cency that prevailed far beyond Kew Gardens. The debate over Kitty Genovese has many dimen- sions, but one of them is the debate over what really happened. How many witnesses were there, really? (The narrative says 38, but there are many who say there were far fewer, and some who believe that some of the witnesses saw only a part of the encounter, not an actual murder in the making.) Is it true that no witnesses reacted? brother argued that one woman tried to scare the attacker by bel- lowing from her window, and he suggested that calls were made to police.) Then there were questions about what kinds of people intervene and what kinds of people simply watch. About whether the Genovese mur- der spawned an of About whether the murder and the Great Society Lyndon Johnson proposed two months later were twin products of the contemporary view that government, and not mere citizens, was respon- sible for civic functions that earlier were assumed by individuals. About whether the American instinct for risk-taking in commerce did not convey to risk-taking in the community.

Kitty Genovese was the oldest of five, the daugh- ter of a man who operated a coat and apron supply company, a graduate of Prospect Heights High. She was a bartender at 11th Hour tavern, kept the books there, oversaw the inventory. She listened to the Beatles, liked to dance, loved to laugh. The killer was Winston Moseley, a father of two with a quiet, dark, desperate, craving side, which ap- parently was what took him, in his sporty Corvair, to the rendezvous that would change his life, end her life, and give life to one of the most powerful urban myths in American life. He was given to stealing tele- visions and later admitted to eight rapes, more than three dozen burglaries and two other murders and, once imprisoned at the Attica Correctional Fa- cility, would escape on a hospital visit, rape another victim and hold hostages at gunpoint.

He would also be involved in the 1971 Attica uprising. trial, ending with a death sentence, was part inquiry, part spectacle. He said that he feel sorry for the crime, that he knew what he was doing, that after sexually assaulting her he took $49 from her wallet and, pointedly, that he heard someone yelling from an open window, so clear that it fright- ened him. Later he returned to the scene to stab her in the throat to halt her cries. But those cries were heard, contrary to legend and lesson.

A man who lived seven floors above the crime scene testified that he heard a young woman say, me, help and then yelled, that girl (That interchange obliterates the say- nothing, do-nothing narrative.) Others testified they saw the incident, or heard it and went back to bed. In a sense, what really happened is far less impor- tant than the reaction to flawed news stories. Because several important questions linger: What is personal responsibility? What makes for community? Where do moral imperatives begin? Is personal responsibility inversely related to the num- ber of people in a group? Does a broad sense that injustice is pervasive in society lead people to ignore their better instincts, even in the last 35 minutes of a young life? And this one cannot be ig- nored can great truths be revealed in a story that itself is not entirely true? David M. Shribman is executive editor emeritus of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He can be reached at 2019 THE PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE DISTRIBUTED BY ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION Remembering struggles, and contributions This month, we honor and remember the numerous contri- butions made by women in their struggle for equality and hu- man rights.

Certainly, worth reflecting on the 19th Amend- passage and adoption in 1920 giving women the right to vote and indirectly establishing the right of women to hold public office. We dare not forget the monumental struggle waged by wom- en in the 19th century to gain such rights long held by men, culminating in that amendment to our Constitution. National History Month also gives us all the op- portunity to reflect on the many concerns that persist. The struggles for sometimes basic human and civil rights often times takes us on a decades-long rollercoaster ride. The movement has worked to remove the stigma and fear of speaking out about sexual harassment, and worse, though there is not only a long way to go, but we be content that the effort will stay on track.

not forget that Anita Hill spoke out about sexual harassment in the work- place concerning now-Justice Clarence Thomas during his confirmation hearing back in October 1991. That was roundly considered to be a turning point at the time. It hope the latest movement sticks. Another long battle, one that stretches back well before and Anita Hill, is the persistent inequality in wages. Today, on average, a woman earns 80.5 cents for every dollar a man earns in a similar job, and a median annual earnings are $10,086 less than that of a according to the most recent data from the U.S.

Census Bureau. If the pace of change in the annual earnings ratio continues at the same rate as it has since 1960, it will take another 41 years, until 2059, for men and women to reach parity. No one should find that time schedule acceptable. Further, women still carry the major responsibility of child rearing and housework in their daily lives. But some advancements give us reason to celebrate rather than just brood over the things that still need work.

Almost a century after the 19th Amendment became the law of the land, the 116th Congress is making history with a record number of women sworn into office this year, includ- ing 102 in the House of Representatives and 25 in the Senate, equating to about 24 percent of the total congressional body. And so far, there are also a record number of women run- ning for president from a single party in the 2020 election, following on the heels of the 2016 election, in which Hillary Clinton became the first female presidential nominee from a major political party. And we may very well see a woman top the ballot again next year. It also just so happens that coinciding with His- tory Month is a planned March 29 International Space Sta- tion spacewalk expected to be the first performed entirely by women, including astronauts Anne McClain and Christina Koch, as well as flight controller Jackie Kagey. NASA reports that assignments could still change, but is a big step for the Washington Post writes.

And yet another leap for womankind we are glad to celebrate this month. Of course, we have to limit our appreciation of women, either past or present, to a single month. Any time of year is a fine time to read up on the advancements of rights and historical figures, be they national or local, helped pave the way for a brighter future for women and girls today. We invite you to learn more about History Month and the inspiring stories of key women in our history at womenshistorymonth.gov. EDITORIAL By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Today is Tuesday, March 19, the 78th day of 2019.

There are 287 days left in the year. Highlight in History: On March 19, 1945, during World War II, 724 people were killed when a Japanese dive bomber at- tacked the carrier USS Franklin off Japan (the ship was saved). Ad- olf Hitler ordered the destruction of German facilities that could fall into Allied hands in his so-called which was largely disregarded. On this date: In 1918, Congress passed the first law establishing daylight saving time in the United States, with clocks to be moved forward one hour from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in Octo- ber. (This law was repealed in Au- gust 1919.) In 1920, the Senate rejected, for a second time, the Treaty of Ver- sailles by a vote of 49 in favor, 35 against, falling short of the two- thirds majority needed for ap- proval.

How conservatives define conservatives The Star Democrat published is a (Feb 26). Despite its hilarious disingen- uousness, let conservatives reveal some actual traits shared by all conservatives. Misogyny: who want equal rights are a socialist, anti- family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, prac- tice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become (evangeli- cal Pat Robertson, 1988 Repub- lican candidate for president). Girl Scout cookies leads to (Mat Staver, Mar 26, 2018). is not the National Organization for Women; it is the National Order of (Jerry Falwell, founder of the Moral Ma- jority).

of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them (Jer- ry Falwell) Racism: for the Ku Klux Klan to night ride (Good- loe Sutton, newspaper editorial in Linden, Alabama, Feb 2019). Steve King, Republican congress- man from Iowa, endorsed white supremacy. And forget about Dylan Roof, conservative who shot up a black church in South Caro- lina. Xenophobia: build a wall on our southern (Donald Trump) Bigotry: Tarrant County (Texas) Republicans submitted a petition to remove their vice chairman from office because of his religion. Homophobia: should be excluded from anti lynching laws because it should be permissible to lynch (evangelical Mat Staver, Jan 9, 2019) govern- ment should execute (Matt Powell, preacher, May 28, 2018).

Anti-Semitism: Antichrist has to be Jewish. The only thing we know is he must be male and listen to (both Jerry Falwell). Anti-Education: hope I live to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we have any public schools. What a happy day that will (Jerry Falwell) Anti-American: Conservatives in- sist football players have con- stitutional rights and black people be allowed to vote. Neo-Nazi support: Nazis are fine (Donald Trump after Charlottesville).

And forget about the six Nazis that have campaigned as conser- vative Republicans. Child molester support: Conser- vatives supported alleged child molester Roy Moore. So according to conservatives themselves, conservatives are misogynist, racist, xenophobic, bigoted homophobes who are anti- Semitic, anti-education, and anti- American but support neo-Nazis and child molesters. Christine conserva- tive Republican Senate candidate, said that have put fully functioning human brains in Maybe conservatives got the mouse brains. JIM PATCHETT Easton a woman I have no country.

As a woman my country is the whole Virginia Woolf, English author (1882-1941) 2019, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS www.stardem.com Serving the Mid-Shore since 1799 One of the oldest newspapers Interim Chief Revenue Officer: Paul Hagood Executive Editor: John Griep 443-239-0156 Regional President, Publisher: Jim Normandin jim.normandin@adamspg.com Letters to the Editor The Star Democrat welcomes letters to the editor from our readers. Letters must include the name, address and telephone number. The phone number will not be published; it is for verification purposes only. We reserve the right to edit or reject all letters and each submission has a 400-word limit. The opinions expressed in letters and submissions are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Star Democrat.

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